Studio One

The Los Angeles-based band Allah-Las have a sound that harkens back to the glorious days of mid-60's California pop, with a garage rock edge. The aptly titled Worship The Sun is the follow-up to their self-titled debut album from 2012. Allah-Las bring a warm glow on the new record, pointing out once again how distinctive and evocative the "California sound" can be.

California native Ty Segall began his career playing in various underground bands in Orange County and the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 2008, the songwriter/vocalist/guitarist (and drummer) has been prolifically releasing solo material. Segall has followed the indie rock tried and true path of starting out lo-fi, fuzzed-out and experimental, then steadily refining his music, still retaining that initial spirit. Now we have Manipulator, Ty Segall's most satisfying record to date, with a generous 17 tracks that move along in well-crafted form for nearly an hour.

Brill Bruisers is the sixth studio album from the Vancouver-based band The New Pornographers. The record is their first new release in four years. Band members A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Dan Bejar, Kathryn Calder, Blaine Thurier, John Collins, Kurt Dahle and Todd Fancey have solo work, other bands and side projects to keep them busy between New Pornographers albums. There is a wealth of talent in this band, creating songs that set the standard for indie-pop. Main lead singer and main songwriter A.C. Newman says: "This is a celebration record.

Spoon is one of the best bands working today, with each new release eagerly anticipated. Lead vocalist and guitarist Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno formed the band twenty years ago in Austin, Texas. Since around 2001, each new Spoon record has been an affirmation of the quality of the band's work. Daniel, Eno and the others have been involved in more side projects in recent years, yet every three or four years we are treated to a new Spoon album. They Want My Soul is another fine record, well-crafted and brimming with rock 'n' roll excitement.

Listeners of Iowa Public Radio's Studio One know that Iowa has a thriving music scene, and that bringing the music of these talented artists to a larger audience is a key part of IPR's mission. And now, some of those artists are receiving recognition from outside our home state.

It takes a special group of musicians to be able to combine a variety of influences and create a sound that only they could have come up with. The North Carolina band Reigning Sound have been doing it since 2001, and they've done again on Shattered, their first album since 2009 and first for the legendary Merge label. Classic soul/R&B, '60s garage rock, country and more are all in the mix here, and vocalist Greg Cartwright is in top form throughout the whole record.

House Of Spirits is the fifth full-length album (and 8th release overall) from the San Francisco band The Fresh & Onlys. Written partly at a horse ranch in the Arizona desert, the album has a dreamy feel to it, and features huge arrangements that still offer a lot of space. It rarely makes any sort of literal sense, but at the same time, that’s what makes it relatable. Listeners will notice a definite ‘80s guitar pop/New Wave influence.

Twin Cities Celtic-rock band The Langers Ball visited IPR's Studio One last week, while they were in the area for the Iowa Irish Festival. The group originally started as an acoustic duo of accordionist and pennywhistler Hannah Rediske and guitarist and mandolinist Michael Sturm. They recruited some other musicians to play with them in the studio, and decided that it was so much fun, they wanted to be a full band all the time.

The East Coast band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are known for exemplifying the phenomenon of the Internet buzz band at the start of their career. The band's totally self-made debut album rode a tide of blogger attention to great success in 2005. Since then, there have been side projects, personnel changes and three more full-length albums of consistently well-crafted indie pop. The new Only Run satisfies with both dance-oriented tracks and rockers.

With August upon us, we are now near the middle of summer. Some of my summer music obsessions have been the debut albums from Spanish Gold (South of Nowhere), Mø (No Mythologies to Follow), and St. Paul and the Broken Bones (Half the City). They may be new to the scene but don’t let that fool you, for instance the core members of Spanish Gold are seasoned musicians who have ties with My Morning Jacket, Hacienda, Dan Auerbach’s Fast Five, and Groupo Fantasma.

It has been said that the closest and most enchanting vocal harmonies are created by siblings. This is certainly borne out in the case of the Swedish duo First Aid Kit. Sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg are from Enskede, a suburb of Stockholm. For Stay Gold, their third full-length album, producer Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes fame) is back at the helm, having helped to make the last First Aid Kit album a great success. Mogis showcases the sisters' beautiful Swedish-accented harmonies with rich indie-folk instrumentation.

The band Scythian (pronounced SITH-ee-unn - they’re named after a nomadic Eurasian tribe) has an unlikely combination of influences. Three of the members are siblings: fiddler Alexander, guitarist Danylo and cellist Larissa Fedoryka are from a family of Ukrainian immigrant, and were classically trained. Bassist Josef Crosby, who also doubles on fiddle, was classically trained as well. Drummer Tim Hepburn started out in jazz, and banjo player Ben-David Warner grew up on a diet of Celtic music via NPR’s Thistle and Shamrock.

Our featured release this week on Studio One is the second full-length album from the young Chicago band, The Orwells. Actually, they are from Elmhurst, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, making them that much closer to being a regional band! Of course, their place of origin is not as important as the vital, tuneful garage rock that they play on the new Disgraceland​. The five members of The Orwells have known each other for years, forming the band and getting signed to Autumn Tone Records for their first album while still in high school.

Listen to and download the podcast to find out more about the spunky Iowa roots band.

The Feralings are Benj Upchurch, Nicole Upchurch, Patrick Bloom, and Stacy Webster, but the name is a bit of a misnomer, as the members of the band are far more likely to invite you to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea than they are to jump you and steal your beer money.

Jack White has enjoyed both critical and commercial success since the late 1990's when he and Meg White formed The White Stripes. Since then he has made his mark as a musician, songwriter, record producer and more. White was also a founding member of The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. Most recently, he has been focusing on his solo career, releasing his album Blunderbuss in 2012. The follow-up is Lazaretto​, lyrically inspired in part by stories, plays and poems White wrote when he was 19.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno of Best Coast when they stopped by the Iowa Public Radio Meet 'N Greet tent, prior to their main stage performance at the 80/35 Festival in downtown Des Moines. Enjoy this July 4 audio interview!

IPR's Studio One team is at 80/35 this weekend, July 4 & 5. We're chatting with local and national bands who are rocking the music festival in Des Moines, and we're recording some live unplugged sessions from the Meet & Greet area.

South Of Nowhere is the debut album from the trio Spanish Gold, formed last year by former Hacienda guitarist and vocalist Dante Schwebel. Schwebel had originally wanted to work as a solo artist, but soon decided to make Spanish Gold a band project. Former Grupo Fantasma guitarist Adrian Quesada and My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan completed the trio. Their soul, rock and hip-hop influenced record was primarily recorded at Dan Auerbach's studio in Nashville, with additional recording in Austin, Texas.

Listen to and download the podcast to find out more about the country duo.

Joe and Vicki Price bring their energetic country blues back to the stage of The Java House to showcase Joe’s new release “Rain or Shine”. Joe has been performing his rough and tumble blues for over 35 years.

The music festival season is well under way, and as the fourth of July weekend approaches there are several to choose from around the Midwest depending on what kind of music you enjoy, and how far you would like to travel. But even if you already have plans for this weekend there are several upcoming festivals that are taking place on various dates throughout the summer

The Des Moines-based band The River Monks formed in 2010 with founding members Ryan Stier, Nicholas Frampton and Joel Gettys. Current members also include Drew Rauch, Mallory Heggen and Tommy Boynton. Their second album, Home Is The House could aptly be summed up by a phrase they have used to describe their sound: "wistful harmonious megafolk." The River Monks combine beautiful vocal harmonies, intriguing songwriting and creative use of traditional folk instrumentation on the new album.

Our IPR 80/35 Showcase series of live in-studio performances concluded on June 26, with two more fine sets. Des Moines-based singer-songwriter Max Jury played keyboard and sang songs from his Something In The Air EP, as well as a haunting Neil Young cover. Also from Des Moines, Dustin Smith and his new band The Maytags played a soulful set of new songs. The Maytags EP, Nova, was recorded in Nashville and will be out this fall. Enjoy these 80/35 Showcase performances here!